Battery Recommendation Needed

When I started the rebuild of my 83 SN I purchased a non marine battery to get me through the build. It's now replacement time and I'm looking for a little advice on what size and type to purchase. What I'm considering doing is buying a battery for the boat and one for the sound system with a relay that allows both batteries to charge off the alternator automatically. Any opinions on this set up and correct battery size for the boat is appreciated.

Group 65.

The reason for the 2nd battery is that I do have a moderately high wattage sound system that I would like to run when I'm beached on the creek and hanging out. I currently turn the radio off so as to not spend my battery.

What is the reasoning to not use deep cycle that is capable of starting the boat?

Consider a BEP DVSR

As been said, wont be satisfied how a v8 engine starts of a single deep cycle, especially after some time with a stereo draw.. Likely smoke the starter and or chatter and weld the starter relay closed, and be stuck. Sounds like you already are privy and have a plan

Had 2 8d gells in my last boat, They weighted just shy of 400 lbs. , well little much for these boats unless you want ballast for wake boarding.    

Start battery is all you need.   Im going to be doing battery soon, my under deck dimensions changed so im going to have to go low profile. Not building a box but the compartment will be sealed and should qualify as a box.   

Sampson 182 wrote: and my LED's for a night cruise and have no worries of the batteries running dead. .

What's the wattage of the LED's?

Good thing there's that 2nd battery for the 6 watt load.

quinner wrote: There are dual purpose batteries available like the Optima Blue Top, I have a fairly large amp draw and use a single Blue Top as I did not want the extra weight of a 2nd battery. Works fine, usually get about 4yrs out of one.

Quinner is spot on. And if one's radio is powerful enough to truely warrant a 2nd battery, turn it down, nobody wants to hear that whipper snapper stuff.

Get off my lawn and turn down that darn music you daggum whippersnappers! I just want to be able to beach her up on the creek and relax to the smooth grooves of Engelbert Humperdinck and not have to get up to turn the boat on!

Don your set up is what I'm trying to accomplish and it may also help me upgrade my music selection! Pictures of your set up this weekend would be very cool!

cmacbuck69 wrote: I just want to be able to beach her up on the creek

Chris,
I didn't say anything when you mentioned this the first time but, there is a "the rest of the story"!!

Get an Odyssey battery. They are made with real lead, not lead alloy like the rest. And last up to 10 years. I have two in my boat. They are something like 1200 cranking amps each. They are heavy, and they can rebound in 30 minutes where other batteries take 10 hours. Just google and check them out.   Optima batteries were bought out by Johnson Controls and the quality dropped.

http://www.odysseybattery.com/design_advantages.aspx

Hello, I noticed your conversation involving our products and wanted to offer some assistance. Marine batteries in general tend to be identical to their automotive counterparts, except that they typically do offer threaded terminal connections and they typically offer shorter warranties. The only real reason for the shorter warranty on an identical battery is because most boaters tend to abuse their batteries, by not maintaining them properly when not in use, which will shorten the lifespan. If you're doing all the wiring, it doesn't matter what kind of termination your battery has, but the idea behind using two batteries is to make sure your boat starts when you need it, so make sure they are isolated from each other.

There's a lot of false information posted here, so I'll do my best to address what I can. In terms of deep-cycle batteries, the types of deep-cycle batteries used on trolling motors by most anglers won't be harmed in any way by a starter or vice-versa. All lead-acid batteries are made with real lead. Most use recycled lead, which won't perform as well or last as long as 99.99% pure virgin lead, which we use in all of our batteries.

Tim D's claims about quality issues with our batteries are false. Cranking amps is an irrelevant specification for what you want to do with an auxiliary battery. Most standard size automotive or marine batteries will have no trouble starting any engine in a Nautique and there's no need to over-buy in that regard. For your auxiliary battery, you'll want to look at reserve capacity and cycle life, which will tell you how long the battery will be able to deliver current with the engine off and how many times you'll be able to do that before your battery reaches the end of it's lifespan.

This is important, because some battery warranties end at the end of the battery's “normal” lifespan, as determined by the retailer, even if the warranty suggests there is a specific time frame in terms of years. Some will also void your warranty if you use the wrong charger, the wrong alternator or allow your battery to be discharged below a minimum voltage level, which can be a cut-off as high as 10 volts. We don't slip in exclusions like that in our warranty, but it's a good idea to read through the fine print of any battery warranty before you make a purchase, It's not uncommon for our sponsored tournament anglers to come off the water after a day of fishing with their batteries discharged well into the single-digits. If you run your stereo loud enough and long enough and you'll do the same.

Some things you will want to consider are the wiring and alternator you are using. If you are using the stock alternator from 1983, Correct Craft probably selected it thinking the electrical demands would be relatively-minimal and limited to maintaining a single battery near a full state of charge. In terms of the battery, most alternators are designed to maintain batteries that are near a full state of charge, not recharging deeply-discharged batteries.

Asking an alternator to maintain one battery, while also recovering a second deeply-discharged battery may be more than most alternators can handle over time, especially if you aren't running the engine long enough to give the alternator enough time to recover the deeply-discharged battery. As a result, you may want to consider upgrading your alternator and definitely keeping your batteries maintained off the water with a quality battery maintenance device. You'll also want to be sure you are using robust wiring to connect everything together and have solid grounds.

Jim McIlvaine
eCare Manager, OPTIMA Batteries
www.facebook.com/optimabatteries

Tim D wrote: Optima batteries were bought out by Johnson Controls and the quality dropped.

Really?????? JC acquired Optima in 2000. I bought an Optima in 2001 for my boat that is actually still working perfectly fine in my truck today. How many Odyssey's have you had that worked for 15 years?
Geez, I sound like Pete now....LOL.

I going on first hand information from a friend of mine. He installs custom sound systems and he has held national SPL titles in the past. He has tested and installed more batteries than anyone on this site. When he gets a new brand in the shop he will run tests on it and checks the standing voltage after 24 hours. Here's a pic of one of his customers vehicle, a Ford Explorer. This is the hatch back, 12" mid-ranges and tweeters, The back seat area contains the subs. He went with Optima batteries, then 18 wheeler batteries and then fixed it (load demand) with Odyssey batteries. When he tells me one is better than the other, I take his word on it.

OptimaJim wrote: There's a lot of false information posted here, so I'll do my best to address what I can. In terms of deep-cycle batteries, the types of deep-cycle batteries used on trolling motors by most anglers won't be harmed in any way by a starter or vice-versa.

Welcome Jim, good to have you here.

I respect that this is your livelihood and don't doubt your overall proficincy, However on this single point I must vehemently disagree because of witnessing repetitive evidence to the contrary over decades.

My observation is DeepC batteries eat v8 starting sytems, especially conventional ones without gear reduction starters. Maybe year 1 will get by, but eventually will cause problems with labored cranking, low voltage under draw, high amps due to slow armature rpm, low I timesV power, overheated cabling, slow crank speeds, and chattering or welded solenoids.